Little Ghost
by MahNati
Summary: Life was full of surprises; that was Rosalina's main motto. As such, she always had to remind herself that anything could happen any time. Like meeting the ghost of a young girl on a Wednesday evening, for example. [For Smash King24's Christmas Contest 2014]
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my entry for "Smash King24's Christmas Contest 2014". It took me a while to come up with something, but it's finally here. It's ghost AU fun time! And I'm not talking about the "A Christmas Carol" kind of ghost.**

* * *

><p>Life was full of surprises; that was Rosalina's main motto. As such, she always had to remind herself that anything could happen any time. It could be simple things, like meeting a long-time friend who had been away for years, or meeting your favorite celebrity in a grocery store.<p>

Or, in her case, meeting the ghost of a young girl on a Wednesday evening.

It all started with her car suddenly getting tired of being alive and deciding that it didn't want to work anymore. One hour she was driving through this small, suburban neighborhood, the soft melody from her personal playlist playing through the speakers and Christmas shopping bags occupying the entire back seat. The other, her car was losing speed, no matter how much she slammed her foot on the accelerator, and moved only enough for her to realize she'd need to pull over because it was going to die.

Great. Fantastic. Just what she needed after a long day.

Rosalina tried her best to revive it, but poor Polaris (as she endearingly nicknamed it) would not work, no matter how much she tried turning the key. Sure, Polaris was a rather old car and she had it for as long as she could remember, but that still didn't excuse it from dying right in the middle of a neighborhood she had no knowledge of. It could at least do it once she arrived at the garage of the building where her apartment was.

She was not having one of the most stellar days, really. Wake up, go to work, get out of said work early, shop for Christmas gifts for family and friends, even though Christmas was only a week away, because she knew that if she didn't go buy those damn presents now, she sure would have trouble later. And now her car just died, meaning she still had a long way until she reached the safe heaven that she called bed. But there was nothing she could do to make it come back to life, so she'd better call someone as soon as possible.

Rosalina grabbed her phone and dialed the number of the first person who went through her mind. "_Hey, Rosalina_," the voice at the other end spoke rather hastily. "_How are you?_"

"Palutena, hi," Rosalina greeted back awkwardly. "Listen, my car just broke here. Do you think you can give me a ride home?"

"_What? How did it break?_"

"Problems in the engine, I suppose," Rosalina answered. "I need some help getting home."

She could hear her friend groan from the other side of the call. "_Uh, well, I'm kind of with my hands tied here, but I'll try to get there as soon as possible,_" Palutena said after a moment of hesitation.

"Thanks, I owe you one," the blonde sighed in relief.

"_Heh, I know._"

She gave the street's address to her friend and ended the call, now all she had to do was wait until rescue arrived. Rosalina turned her head to the passenger by her side, mellow cyan eyes meeting droopy, if not a little mischievous, black eyes. "I can see you trying to hide a smile," she said to him. "Don't laugh, because we're both stuck in this."

Mr. Peepers, the brown-orange mutt, just continued staring at her with his tongue exposed. Right next to his was a rather worn out duck plushy that he had been chewing the entire trip from the pet shop where he took his weekly bath and decided to give it a rest after the car stopped working. Rosalina could swear that if he was a person he would be laughing really hard at her misfortune. Mr. Peepers was starting to get agitated in his seat, however, and that could only mean one thing.

"Oh, alright," she said while she put on a leash on his neck. "It will take a while until Palutena arrives anyway. Let's go take a walk."

Rosalina giggled at how Mr. Peepers wiggled his tail like an over excited puppy and got out of the car. Getting out and getting some fresh air would do great for both of them. A gust of heat greeted her as she stepped out, making her remember just how unbearably hot today was and that she only tolerated today's weather because the air-conditioning of her car was really great. Ah, the summer of December… It almost made her want to go back to her car. Almost. But if she did that, Mr. Peepers wouldn't give her peace and might actually do something nasty to the seat of her car. Yeah, no way she would risk that.

What happened next was so fast she barely had any time to register in her mind what was going on.

She opened the door and Mr. Peepers jumped out of the car in such speed that Rosalina simply couldn't get a hold on his leash. Okay, no problem, he was just feeling a little more agitated, it wasn't like he was going to run away. Besides, they were stuck in a quiet, peaceful and devoid of life activity (besides their own) street. She just needed to calm down and grab Mr. Peepers before Murphy's Law decided to act and he decided to run into the street right when a car passed by.

"Come back here, you old mutt," she called out while she chased after the dog that continued to run the sidewalk ahead. What was wrong with him today?

She held back a curse as she saw Mr. Peepers running into an old house not too far ahead from where she was. Oh, of all houses he could have invaded, it had to be the only creepy, old looking one without any kind of lively decorations! Not only the house that Mr. Peepers had run into looked old, but she also found out it was abandoned by the time she got closer to it, which just added fuel to the list of problems Rosalina was having at the moment. There were just so many types of people who could be hiding in an abandoned building. Types of people no one would like to talk to if they valued their life.

"Psst, Mr. Peepers!" she whispered from the partially opened iron fence. "Here, boy!"

She heard a piercing bark in response and took it as her cue to go get him before things got ugly. He was still her dog, after all. Rosalina loved him like he was her child. A very scrappy child, but still. So she entered the house, following the sound of his barking and trying her best to not pay attention to the spider webs and the peeled paint of the walls. It sounded like the barks were coming from the second floor and she did not make haste in going up there, her steps causing a creaking sound every time she stepped in a new stepstool. In the end, she reached the door to some room, probably a bedroom.

The first thing she noticed once she stepped inside the bedroom was that it was cold. Not a pleasant, air-conditioning cold of a store you enter to escape the blazing heat of a summer day, but actual spine shivering, supernatural cold. And there was a good reason for that.

Standing in the middle of the room, petting Mr. Peepers, stood a small girl with her back turned to her. She was wearing a heavy pink parka with fluffy white fur, black jeans and white boots. Clothes that were not supposed to be on anyone's body in such a hot day as this one. But that was not much of the issue as it was more than the fact… well… her body was translucent. And floating. And really not acting like any normal, living body would act. The light that came through the partially opened windows of the bedroom could actually pass through her body.

To say that Rosalina let out a whimper at the sight ahead of her would be rather dignified in comparision the sound that actually escaped from her mouth.

And that was how she met the ghost girl.

Rosalina held her breath as the girl suddenly turned her attention to her, almond brown eyes scanning her up and down, almost as if Rosalina herself was the ghost, and not her. Perhaps analizying her body and seeing if she was adequate for some kind of possession? Rosalina really didn't know much about ghosts, but if she took account all the movies and stories she heard about, nothing good could come from them.

The girl simply smiled at her.

"Hey."

If Rosalina wasn't such a calm and collected kind of person, she would have fainted right there and then who knows what the ghost would do to her? Okay, so maybe by the way she said that word she didn't sound so threatening, but you never knew. All Rosalina could do was answer back with a look.

"You okay there?" the girl continued. "Or is being silent your way of saying hi?"

And then she did that thing ghosts usually did, moving from one place to another so quickly you barely had the time to process how they did that, and stood right in front of her, making her step back automatically. That gesture apparently didn't please the girl that much. "Oh, wow, so much for being polite," she muttered in a tone of resent. "Would it cost you that much to just say hi? That's the least you could do to make up for the fact that you just barged into my home."

It wasn't her fault that her dog liked to mess with her sometimes! She would never have broken in if Mr. Peepers acted like an obedient dog and stayed close to her, instead of running off to some unknown house without a care in the world. Today really wasn't her day, at all. Rosalina glared at Mr. Peepers, who watched the scene unfold ahead of him with same goofy, innocent face he had when he knew he did something wrong.

"I... I just wanted to get him, " Rosalina said, shakily pointing at him.

"Oh, this cute dog is yours?" the girl asked with a genuine smile on her face.

"Well, I wouldn't say he's cute," she glared once more at Mr. Peepers. "But yes, he is mine. His name is Mr. Peepers."

"I found kind of funny how he just came running into the house like a lost duck in the middle of a rapid fire," she giggled, petting him once more.

Rosalina did not find that funny at all. She almost had a heart attack because of him. She wanted to get him and get out of there as soon as possible. "Yes, well," she started awkwardly. What kind of excuses did you give to avoid having to chat with a ghost? "I am terribly sorry for his behaviour. I will make sure this doesn't happen again."

"Oh, no, that doesn't bother me at all. He can come visit me any time, if he wants."

Rosalina didn't want him visiting her any time.

"So, what's your name?"

"R-Rosalina. And yours?"

"I'm Nana Climber. Nice to meet you!"

How do you politely tell a ghost you don't really feel like chatting with them without accidentally making them haunt you in revenge? Nana seemed like a nice girl and all, but...

She was dead.

That was still all so surreal to Rosalina. She needed a moment to lay down and just think.

"So, what do you..."

As if answering to her prayers, the blonde's cell phone suddenly started to ring, startling everyone in the room. Rosalina gladly excused herself (being extra careful to hide the glad part) and checked her phone to see who was calling her. She had to fight back the smile that threatened to appear on her lips as she saw it was exactly the person she was expecting.

"_Rosalina, where are you?! I'm where you indicated, but I can only see your car,_" Palutena's voice rang in her ears, her concern sounding like a chorus of angels to the blonde.

"I just decided to take Mr. Peepers for a walk," she answered calmly. "I will be there in a minute."

Rosalina saw Nana's cheerful disposition suddenly drop at hearing that. She looked like a puppy who had just received a huge kick, which made Rosalina feel a pang in her heart, in a way. Not enough to make her want to stay, but still quite guilty. "You have to leave already?" she asked.

"I'm really sorry," she said, finally being able to put a strap on Mr. Peepers' leash. "My friend is here to pick me up. My car broke and I asked her to give me a ride home."

"O-Oh, I see..." she muttered.

"It was nice meeting you."

"Hey, Rosalina, can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"Can you bring Mr. Peepers tomorrow?"

"I will see what I can do."

And with that vague, yet polite, answer she left the house. First in slow and cautious steps, then accelarating her walking speed the further away she got from Nana and the house. In less than a couple of minutes, she spotted a white car parked right next to her black one. She quickly retrieved all shopping bags and other belongings that were still in Polaris and moved them to the back seat of Palutena's car, only barely finding space for her and Mr. Peepers to sit in. Palutena turned around from the driver's seat in order to face her better, and byt he smirk on her face, Rosalina could already guess what topic would surface.

"I told you to get a new car soon. This was bound to happen sooner or later."

Oh, Rosalina knew her so well. "We'll see after he goes through a mechanic if he's a lost cause," Rosalina answered, still not wanting to give up on her car.

"Where were you, anyway?" Samus, who was seated on the front passenger's seat, asked. Of course, Palutena would bring Samus with her. Rosalina didn't expect anything else from her.

"Just taking a walk with Mr. Peepers. He was getting agitated inside the car."

She didn't feel like saying anything about what she had to go through to the other two women yet. First, Rosalina herself needed to believe in what just happened to her, before trying to convince anyone else of it.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so this wasn't the most Christmas-y intro ever, but it'll get better, promise. Merry Christmas to all of you who have to celebrate it in summer and have to deal with mosquitos sucking your blood at night!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

"Palutena, what do you know about ghosts?"

Rosalina made sure to sound as casual as possible, as she didn't want to raise any questions from her green-haired friend. Both were trying to finish setting up the Christmas tree in the living room, along with Samus, who Palutena has asked if she could help decorating their apartment.

Of course, she was using that as a blatant excuse to invite Samus over. It may be just a theory, but Rosalina already had some sort of idea why Palutena's voice sounded so hesitant over the phone and it had to do with her interrupting her alone time with Samus. Oops.

And now it was 9 PM and the three of them were decorating the apartment that was supposed to already be fully decorated. But really, both Rosalina and Palutena were just so occupied with their personal lives, what with work, studies and preparing for the holidays, that they kind of forgot about preparing their apartment.

"Ghosts, uh?" Palutena asked while hanging a plastic bell on one of the branches. "Well, that came out of nowhere. Why do you ask?"

"Some girl at social services today was claiming she was being haunted by one," she lied nonchanantly. "I just felt bad for not being able to contribute to the conversation."

"Pretty sure this girl is just imagining things," Samus commented.

"Oh, no, ghosts are real alright," Palutena said reaching her hand for her to pass another ornament. "Well, spirits are, at least."

"Oh, really?"

"And are all of them necessarily evil?" Rosalina asked.

"Most of them aren't. Most spirits are just poor saps that passed away, but something is still keeping them stuck here, in the living plane."

"Like?"

"Stuff like extreme sadness or hatred. Usually very negative emotions. Now, don't get me wrong, some spirits can be really dangerous, especially those who have this deep feeling of vengence over something that tormented them in their past lives," the green haired explained as she finished setting up the last trinket on the tree. "But most of them just stay because of denial and sorrow. These spirits usually just need a guiding light to the other plane and mean no harm to anyone. If anything, they should be pitied."

"I see..."

Rosalina picked up a golden plastic star and placed it on top of the tree. There, now that was a huge step up from the empty mess that their apartment was. Now, all they had to do was finish decorating the rest of it and then-

"I still don't believe such things could exist," Samus said bluntly.

"Samus, such harsh attitude and skepticism will just make you grow bitter with the world around you," Palutena teased.

"Maybe you're just too naïve. Believing in just about any fairytale you hear isn't also good for your sanity. Ever thought about that?" Samus answered, joining Palutena's little game of teasing.

Oh, joy.

"Except we are talking about ghosts, and not fairies."

"Same stuff."

Rosalina rolled her eyes and decided to leave the room as soon as Palutena decided to move a little closer to Samus. One teasing would lead to another, and then another, and then, next she knew, they would get nowhere with the rest of the decoration of the apartment because the two would be so over each other that they wouldn't pay attention to anything else.

She definetely didn't want to be the only one decorating the apartment, while having to deal with the other two doing nothing productive. Productive for her standards, that is. They got the tree ready, if that served as any consolation to her.

Besides, after hearing what Palutena had said, Rosalina really wanted some time alone to reflect. Or, at least, that's what she wanted to do. She was just so tired that, once she reached her room and bellyflopped on her bed, she ended up sleeping instantly.

* * *

><p>"You actually came back," Nana looked at the woman in front of her with the most stupified expression on her face.<p>

"I never said I wouldn't."

Mr. Peepers stood there, wagging his tail, as if waiting for Nana to approach him. Truth be told, Rosalina herself couldn't believe that she came back to visit Nana either. And really, spending the Saturday afternoon with a ghost girl who probably just wanted the company of her dog, instead of her, really did sound kind of a sucky plan for the day, if she really thought about it.

But the look on Nana's face once she got over her surprise... Rosalina had to admit it, the girl had a genuine, pretty smile. Her joy in having some company for once was actualy pretty contagious and soon enough, she found herself smiling too. Surely, Nana couldn't be a vengeful spirit. If that was the case, then she must have been an amazing actress in her past life and could hide all her hatred and ill intentions incredibly well.

"I thought that you wouldn't, to be honest," Nana said.

"I've had some problems with my conduction," Rosalina said rubbing her arm. "My car stopped working two days ago, you see. Thank goodness it was a very minor problem in the engine. I only got to use it again today."

"Well, I'm glad you decided to visit me again, anyway."

As the girl continued petting Mr. Peppers, Rosalina tried to make herself comfortable by sitting on the only chair avaiable in the room. It was rather dusty, but stable and safe, so Rosalina wouldn't need to worry about accidentaly breaking things that weren't hers, even if said object belonged to a ghost.

Passed the initial shock from her first encounter, Rosalina was now more than curious about Nana's life. Well, past life. The afterlife too, there really wasn't an order of things she wanted to know. How did it feel to not have a physical body? How did it feel when she died? Could she remember how she died at all? Could she leave that room and roam around the neighborhood? She obviously could pet Mr. Peepers, but did that mean that she could also carry objects too? Oh, the answers that she could get about life after death, it was all so fascinating!

She would not be rude, of course.

"So, will I get to meet anyone else?" Rosalina winced at her own question. Was it really necessary to start like that?

"You mean my family?" she asked, suddenly stopping what she was doing to look at the older woman.

"Yes, is your family around?" she asked. She still wasn't sure if Nana was fully aware of her _condition_, as Rosalina would delicately put it, so it was better to watch her words.

"Nah, mom and dad are always out. They barely stay at home," she mumbled, before her eyes got bright again. "But there's my bro, Popo. He isn't home yet, but I'm sure he will be soon."

"Your 'bro', you say?"

"Yeah! My twin brother, I mean," Nana said happily. "He's been traveling for the week with his friend, Ness. But I'm sure he should be back today."

"So he said to you that he should be back today?"

"Well, no. Can't exactly remember when he said he would come back. But he did travel to Summers last weekend, and he would spend the entire week out, so obviously he should be back either today, or tomorrow, right?"

"I... I guess."

"But, if you ask me, I think this vacation of theirs is just soooo dumb," Nana ranted on. "I mean, who travels to Summers in the middle of the winter, right? Because since it's summer here, then it's winter there, so they can't go to the beach and that's no fun."

No, wait, she said it was winter there. That still didn't explain the pink parka and the white boots that she was wearing, but that was a starting point. Supposing this all happened in the middle of summer vacation, then that could only mean she has died around December or January. Maybe February, if she stretched a little. How many Decembers or Januaries (or Februaries) ago, though, was another question.

Just how long has this girl been dead? Did she even know that it was Christmas time? Rosalina really couldn't tell. If she took her house as a reference point, she would say for about an year, though she could be wrong. There were no decorations at all, but that could just mean Nana's family might not celebrate Christmas.

"And you have been all by yourself this entire time?" Rosalina asked rather surprised.

"What? You think I can't take care of myself?" she said resting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, absolutely not. It's just, how should I put it," she nervously twirled a lock of her pale blonde hair with her fingers. "It must be pretty lonely being here, no?"

"A little, but it's not like I'm not used to it," she shook her see-through hand. Noticing how Mr. Peepers was growing bored of doing nothing, she then sat on the floor and started scratching his belly.

_"So she also doesn't have a lot friends," _Rosalina thought.

Her mind went back to what Palutena had explained about spirits and about how a lot of them stayed on Earth because of very negative emotions. Nana didn't seem to be suffering from any sort of resentment and it was more than obvious that she wasn't a bad person in her living days, so she wasn't out there to harm anyone.

Was her waiting for her brother to return the reason why she was still there?

When did Rosalina start caring so much?

"Ah, why don't you stay until Popo arrives?" Nana asked. "I can introduce you and Mr. Peepers to him."

How about no? "I'm sorry, Nana," she apologized, getting up from the chair. "But Mr. Peepers and I need to get going."

"What? Already?" she whined.

"There's still a lot of things I need to do. With Christmas coming up and everything else, I..."

"No, please! Stay here!"

"I-I really don't..."

"C'mon, Rosalina, it will be fun!"

"Nana, I really don't think..."

"STAY!"

A shiver ran down Rosalina's spine as she felt the room suddenly get even colder than before. Not even the jacket she brought with her was helping. She heard the loud bang of the door suddenly closing by itself, making her jump from where she was and hug the also startled Mr. Peepers, who ran to her arms without a second thought. Her hug seemed to tighten the more the temperature droped.

She would not panic. She would not scream. She had to remain calm and reason with her. Nana would not harm her. She wasn't that kind of spirit, Rosalina was sure of it.

"Nana, please, I still have to see my family! I promise I will visit you and Popo tomorrow," she begged, looking straight at the young girl's eyes. "You'll get nothing by keeping me here. You'll just make everything awkward for everyone."

As soon as she finished saying that, she could feel the tension int he room dimming out. The temperature rose a little, not enough for her to feel comfortable with the temperature, but just enough for her to ralize that Nana was calming down. The door also opened for her and Rosalina feared that if she didn't run away now, she would never get another opportunity to leave. Her entire body screamed for her to run, to leave that lonely ghost behind and go back to her life. Yet, her mind kept her in place, ready to reason with Nana.

"S-Stop looking at me like this," Nana looked down. "I wasn't going to keep you here, geez. If you want to leave, the door is always open."

There she was again, with that sad look on her face and teary brown eyes that just made you feel the worst person in the world, despite her being at fault for almost making Rosalina think she would die of hypothermia. Poor Mr. Peepers also couldn't stop shaking in her arms.

"Nana, I will be back tomorrow, okay?" Rosalina said as she stood up with Mr. Peepers on her arms. "That's a promise."

"Really?" she eyed her suspiciously.

"Cross my heart and hope to..." she bit her lower lip. "You know what? Just cross my heart."

"Okay, fine," she waved her hand at her. "See ya tomorrow, then..."

And with that, Nana vanished. Probably to another part of the house, Rosalina thought to herself. She better get out of there after that whole drama between them. As she walked down the stairs and found her way to the exit, Palutena's word suddenly echoed in her mind.

_These spirits usually just need a guiding light to the other plane and mean no harm to anyone._

A guiding light, uh?

_If anything, they should be pitied._

One thing Rosalina knew for sure: she would not pity Nana. Pity would get her nowhere. If anything, she was more than determined to help the girl with whatever was tormenting her.

* * *

><p><strong>That SamusPalutena part I just included because I have strong feelings for this pairing and will have absolutely no relevance to rest of the plot. I'm sorry, except I'm not. I'm trying to update this story as fast as I can, but with the holidays this close, it can get kind of difficult sometimes. **

**This is why I put my other fics on hold for a moment, because I want to finish this one in time. I'll get back to writing them as soon as this one is over.**

**EDIT: Fixed the Summers/Winters confusion. **


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Rosalina stepped out of the house, the sudden wave of heat hit her and the blonde found herself being forced to take off her jacket. She really didn't know what was worse: the unbearable heat of the outside or the freezing atmosphere of Nana's room.

Probably Nana's room. Yes.

"Hey, miss," someone called out not too far away from her. "Does he bite?"

Rosalina turned around and saw a rather muscular black-haired young man standing a couple of feet away from her, pointing at Mr. Peepers, who currently sat on the floor to scratch his long black ears. Judging by his sporty clothes and sweaty face, it was safe to say had been jogging for quite some time.

Oh, right, there were living beings in this neighborhood that weren't her and her dog too. Rosalina forgot about that for a moment.

"N-No, he doesn't. You can pet him, he's a nice dog," she said.

"Okay, cool," he grinned and then crouched to scratch Mr'. Peeper's ears. "He's really cute, y'know? I mean, it's a he, right?"

"It's a he..."

Rosalina distractly looked back at the house behind her, not paying attention to Mr. Peepers or the young man petting him. She wondered if she could see Nana from the window of the upper floor, but with the windows' curtains covering most of the room's view, she highly doubted she could see clearly if the girl was still there, observing her as she left.

Apparently, the man noticed her gaze, because he stopped whatever he was doing to follow her gaze. "You interested in this house?" he asked.

As if by magic, her attention was brought back to Earth. "What was that? I'm sorry, I was distracted," she apologized, now looking him in the eyes.

"Don't sweat it, you're not the first one to get like this near this place," he laughed.

"What was your name again?"

"Call me Mac," he said with a grin. "You are...?"

"Rosalina. Tell me, Mac, what do you know about this house?"

"Oh, you mean the haunted house of the Climbers?"

"Haunted, you say?" she asked in the most casual tone possible.

"Yeah, haunted. With ghosts and stuff. Everyone around here knows about it and just stays away from the house."

"And you know why it is said to be haunted? Surely this rumour couldn't have appeared out of thin air."

"Ah, no, it's not a rumour! 'Tis true, I'm telling ya," Mac exclaimed. "I know, 'cos I have already entered this house and felt the ghost's presence."

"Oh, you did?" Rosalina hid a rare smirk. "And what did you feel?"

"First things first, that house is always cold, no matter which season we're in. If you enter this house now, you'll see what I mean. But I don't recommend you doin' it."

It was a little too late to recommend that.

"But why is it haunted? Did some family die in there?"

"Uh, well, not the whole family," Mac scratched his head. "From what I remember hearing, the Climbers were a couple with two kids. But some stuff happened and the girl died. Then they just kind of moved away to another neighborhood and left the place like that."

"And nobody tried selling it? This house looks that it's still in good condition. If someone just bought it..."

"Nah, they never tried sellin'. Nobody wanted to. Every time someone would enter the house they would complain about something. The cold, the strange noises and doors opening and closing at random, the way they felt depressed the more they stood there. They couldn't even get into the girl's bedroom without having something thrown at them," the man shrugged his shoulders. "They gave up before putting the house for sale."

"So you think it is the ghost of the girl's fault?"

"Of course it's the ghost of the girl! One hundred percent sure! Didn't I just tell ya? People had stuff thrown at them out of nowhere."

Oh, Nana, she really wasn't feeling like letting go of the house. "Hey, Mac, how did this girl die?" she asked.

"Man, you sure are interested in this, uh?"

"I have always liked a good ghost story."

"Sorry, Rosalina, I have no idea what happened to her. I just live around here, and that's as much as I know."

Rosalina cursed internally, though she knew she couldn't blame Mac for not knowing something that did not concern him. To think she was having it easy when getting answers. Too bad one of the most important of them was one of those he didn't know.

So once she bid her farewells to him, wishing the obligatory "happy holidays", the first thing she did once she got home was dive into a very exhausting research on the internet, consisting of just browsing Nana's name and hoping her answers would appear on the first page. But the internet would just not collaborate with her at all and all her hardworking search, consisting of typing and clicking through links, was useless. Nothing. There was nothing about Nana. Only a couple of deactivated links to social media accounts, which made Rosalina wonder if it was anyone from her family who deactivated when she passed away.

Oh, if only she had asked for her parents names, she could enter in contact with them. But what could she say to them?

Hi, so I met the ghost of your daughter in your former house, and she's going through some emotional turmoil that might be the reason why she hasn't ascended to another plane and I want help her and-

And then they would think she was a madwoman. No, that wouldn't do it.

Did it really matter at all to know what happened to her? Couldn't she just resolve her current issues? Would Nana even like to talk about them?

Rosalina needed to rest her eyes for a while. Or that was what she wanted to do, until she heard the phone ring from the other side of the room. Usually she would just let Palutena answer it, but since she was not home yet, Rosalina begrudgingly answered it. "Hello?" she asked.

"_Rosalina, I'm already here at the mall,_" the other voice spoke, making Rosalina's blood freeze on the spot. "_Where are you?_"

"Oh, Peach, I'm so sorry," Rosalina apologized, almost tripping over the carpet as she clumsily grabbed her mary janes fromt the floor. "I completely forgot I had to meet you."

"_Get your head off from space for a change, will you? You're lucky your apartment is so near to the mall,_" Peach grumbled. "_I'll be waiting at the entrace. See you soon._"

She would have to ask Nana personally. It couldn't be that bad. As far as Rosalina could tell, she seemed to be aware of her "powers". If Nana acknowledged them, that was another story, though. Rosalina just had to be really careful when asking.

* * *

><p>Okay, so maybe deciding to go straight to the point was a lot more difficult than Rosalina thought. And really, she had no idea why she suddenly got so shy when she approached Nana. She parked her car, she got out of it, she walked with confident steps towards the abandoned house, all while repeating her question in her head over and over again. She even had the correct tone of voice all figured it out and all sorts of comebacks in case Nana decided to go full arctic mode on her again.<p>

One look at the girl's enthusiastic dark eyes and Rosalina's determination went down the drain. The two ended up talking about the most trivial things ever, without giving much opportunity for Rosalina to get to the subject that she wanted to talk about. It was almost as if the girl knew what she had in ming, so she kept talking about anything that wasn't related to herself.

But not all hope was lost. She could still win that battle. Instead of asking straight up just what happened to her and how she could help her, Rosalina simply asked:

"So, what happened to Popo? You said he would return yesterday?"

"I did?" she feigned innocence. "I guess I meant it today."

"Are you sure he is coming back?" she asked while sitting on the same chair from yesterday.

"He has to! We always spend Christmas together."

"Nana, how long have you been waiting for him?"

"Have you forgotten already?" she put her hands on her hips. "He's been away for only a week."

And a few dozens others, apparently. "Must have been a pretty long week, right?" Rosalina asked casually.

"Ah, well, a little."

"You said you wanted to celebrate Christmas with him, yet I don't see any Christmas decorations laying around. Actually, I don't see any furniture around here except from your room," she continued on, making Nana visibly uncomfortable.

Nana turned her back to her and kept pacing back and forth, never once looking Rosalina in the eye. She wasn't even walking, she was just floating in circles. How can somone not be aware that your feet don't touch the ground?

"Say, why didn't you bring Mr. Peepers with you today?" Nana asked, putting on that melancholic smile on her face again. "I like to play with him."

She would not change subjects. Rosalina had already tiptoed around what she wanted to say long enough. "Nana," she said as gently as she could. "You know Popo's not coming home, right?"

"I think it's time for you to go."

"What happened to you?"

"I'll see you later."

"Nana..."

"Leave."

"How did you die?"

Rosalina closed her eyes and braced herself for another sudden drop of the temperature (and maybe even being thrown off the chair), but none of that happened. Instead, once she opened her eyes, Nana had already vanished. Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words, now that she stopped to think about it. She needed to be a lot more cautious.

But it was also so infuriating! She knew it. Nana knew that she was dead all along. She knew everything that's been happening to her, yet she pushed Rosalina away, despite her making it clear that she wanted to help. Okay, so maybe she wasn't clear enough, but seeing Nana being so stubborn to tell her what was her problem was frustrating her to no end.

"Nana, where are you?" she called out for her. "I just want to help. Talk to me, please."

She searched the house up and down, getting more nervous as the seconds passed by. Nana wouldn't appear for nothing. She tried calling her name a few more times, but there was no sign of her being nearby anywhere. Where could she be?

Why did she care? She had better things to do than chase after a delusional ghost girl. Christmas was just around the corner and she still had so much to do and help her cousin Peach to receive their family on her house.

"Fine, if that's how you want it to be," she hissed and stormed of the house, unaware of the same girl she has been chasing, who was staring her with tearful eyes.

* * *

><p>"You're home late today," Palutena said as she saw Rosalina entering their apartment. "Usually you're the one waiting for me."<p>

"Sometimes I like to break my routines," she answered dryly.

"What bug bit you today? You sound cranky," the green haired woman asked, putting aside the book she was reading.

"It's nothing. I'm just tired, that's all. I have been following Peach through stores and markets all day."

"I thought she only wanted you to help on finding gifts for Mario and Luigi?"

"That was yesterday," she dropped her purse on the couch and took off her shoes, heading straight to her room. "I'm just itred. Goodnight."

"G-Goodnight..."

Palutena sighed as she heard her friend slam her room's door and went back to reading her book. It was obvious Rosalina was having issues, but she learned from long ago that it was useless to pressure her into telling her what was wrong. Rosalina was a master in the art of isolating herself sometimes. Palutena just wished she knew knew how to help her friend sometimes.

She turned her head to look at Mr. Peepers, who kept on chewing on his worn out duck doll on the carpet, not minding his surroundings. "Hey, you," she said, making him turn his eyes to her. "Your owner is sad. I'm pretty sure needs to cuddle you."

Mr. Peepers tilted his head to the side and continued on chewing his doll. Palutena glared at him and closed her book.

"Oh, well..."

She didn't know what was up with her friend and she knew it was useless to try to get an answer out of her. But she could always be there for her.

* * *

><p><strong>Didn't like that ending that much, but I'm going to stick with it anyway. I originally thought I would have this story finished in three chapters, but I was wrong again. I'm kind of afraid I won't finish this in time, but deadlines are always good motivations to write faster.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

_The snowflakes kept falling gently from the gray blue-ish sky, not adding anything to the drawn piles of snow that covered almost half of the screen, as the instrumental part of the song suddenly begun playing in the background._

_"And we're off!" the Grim Reaper sang while swinging his arms._

_"Yes, we're off!" the vampire added._

_"We're off to save Christmas, we're off to save Christmas!"_

"We are cold!" Palutena sang along. "Super cold!"

"Don't tell me you actually know these lyrics by head," Rosalina mocked as she watched her green-haired friend continuing her singing.

"Shhhh! The best part is coming!"

Right when the heroine of the story told the two undead entities to quit their singing, she turned around and saw both frozen in an ice cube. Of course the two characters would freeze in an ice cube. Rosalina saw the joke coming from miles away, but that still got a cheap laugh of both of them.

Sometimes Rosalina forgot just how much she enjoyed spending time with Palutena like that, watching silly specials on tv and chatting in-between commercials. With Palutena having to spend the whole day out due to her workplace being located on the other side of the city and the fact that she was in a serious relationship with Samus, while Rosalina went on with her own little life, the two hardly had the opportunity to spend time together. It was kind of ironic, since the two did live in the same modest space that was their apartment.

Watching tv with Palutena even made her mood get a lot lighter. Having her this close to her did bring some comfort that Rosalina realized she missed sometimes. And it made it even better that Palutena never once bombarded her with questions about what could have caused her bad mood. She just knocked on her room's door, suggested that they should watch the Christmas cartoon specials that were airing and dragged Rosalina out of her self-misery.

"You sure have been up late for someone who was so tired," Palutena teased once they hit the break commercials.

"I'm still tired."

"Your face doesn't show it," she poked her cheeks, only to have her hand pushed aside.

"Yeah, well, I can be very good at hiding what I feel," Rosalina hugged her legs.

"Maybe to anyone else, but not to me."

"Hmm..."

"You feeling better?"

"I guess."

"That's good."

And they continued watching the rest of the cartoon in silence, both enjoying each other's company as the girl in the cartoon prepared to fight against vampire Ms. Claus.

* * *

><p>Rosalina got off from her car and looked aprehensively at the abandoned house in front of her. She even brought Mr. Peepers with her this time, in a sorry attempt to make things less awkward between them. He may be a pest, but Mr. Peepers was a 80% chance she could dissipate the tension between them. He was adorable and Rosalina couldn't possibly imagine who would be mad at him.<p>

The two entered the house and headed straight to the girl's room. She hoped to find her there, since the last time she decided to look after her it didn't wield any results. It was so much easier to avoid people when you were a ghost.

"Nana, are you there?" Rosalina asked and knocked three times on the door. "I'm so- I brought Mr. Peepers. I know you like to see him and I felt bad for not bringing him last time."

There was a tense silence in the air, before she heard the creak of the door opening and Nana standing on the corner of the room, looking at the window in a way that made it look like she didn't acknowledge Rosalina's presence there.

"Hey."

"Hello," Rosalina greeted back awkwardly.

"Why do you keep coming back?"

Rosalina really didn't have an answer for that question. She wanted to say it was solely because she wanted to help, but maybe that wouldn't be entirely sincere of her part. Morbid curiosity, perhaps? After all, it wasn't always you got to talk to a ghost. Or maybe it was Rosalina saw a little of herself in Nana? The girl was always there, never getting the chance to talk to anyone. She seemed to be so alone, stuck in that desolated house that was visited by no one other than curious neighbors that bet between themselves just how long they could stand staying there.

That feeling of isolation, even when close to other people, Rosalina could understand very well. Perhaps that was why she wanted to help so much. She couldn't help but see part of herself in Nana.

"I just thought," she paused to take a deep breath. "Maybe you wanted some company?"

She turned around, still very confused. "But I'm such a pain to deal with," she said, twitching her gloved fingers. "I expelled you, like, two times already. And I'm not that fun to be around. And..."

"Not fun to be around? Nana, that's not true at all!"

"Yes, it is."

"Quite the contrary. I liked talking to you during these days," the blonde gave her a warm smile. "And Mr. Peepers here also likes visiting you. Isn't that right, boy?"

She let go of Mr. Peepers leash and he immediately ran towards the girl, who couldn't stop giggling nervously, yet couldn't bring herself to pet him. Rosalina couldn't understand what made her mood shift so quickly, but judging from past experiences, she better not pressure her into answering anything.

"Rosalina, I have no idea what you want from this, but you don't need to keep visiting me ," she hugged herself and floated away from Mr. Peepers.

"I'm not doing this out of pity, if that's what you're thinking."

"I wasn't even that interesting before, imagine now."

"Now?"

"Eh, who am I kidding? We all know that I'm dead," Nana mumbled, floating towards her bed and sitting on it. She hugged her legs and continued to stare into the floor. "It's just that admiting it can be really painful sometimes."

"I already had the feeling you were aware, to tell you the truth," Rosalina said, sitting by her side. "Yet you still wait for Popo. Do you want to talk about that?"

"..."

"Or not. You don't need to explain anything, if you don't want to."

The silence between the two was heavy, not being helped by the cold atmosphere. Rosalina wondered how Mr. Peepers could stand it, but then again, he didn't seem to mind playing with a ghost. He seemed so at ease in the midst of all of that, it made her a little jealous.

"It's okay," Nana tensed up. "I mean, it's not okay, but thanks for worrying, I guess. I just wish I could see Popo one more time."

"What about your parents? Don't you miss them too?"

"Would it sound too mean if I say I don't?"

"I don't know anything about your parents, so I can't say."

"They really were never there for me and my brother. Heck, they were never there for each other. The two worked so much that if they could marry to their jobs, they would be filling divorce papers, just so they could be with their true loves," Nana said bitterly. "And the rest of the family... I dunno, we never had much contact. I still don't know the name of half of my cousins. My only family was literally just Popo."

"I see," Rosalina muttered. "So you hoped he would come home one more time."

"Pretty pathetic, uh?"

"There is nothing pathetic about missing someone dear to you," she said in a comforting voice. "And that's what is keeping you here?"

"In a way, yeah," there was a crack in Nana's voice. "I just... I don't want to go yet. I know it's been a long time since I died, but I don't want to go. I want to see him one more time! He was the only one who cared about me!"

Rosalina could feel her heart sink as she saw Nana stubbornly fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. She really wanted to find some magical solution to solve her problems, but what could she do? What could she say?

"I'm afraid," the girl hiccuped. "I never had an impact on anyone's lives, Rosalina. I was always so alone, I barely had any friends or anyone as close as Popo. I can't remember my death very well, but I remember it being just so underwhelming and pathetic. Barely anyone noticed it."

"Are you afraid of being alone?"

Nana nodded, still not giving into the tears. "I j-just w-want someone to care about me," she whispered. "I'm so afraid that I was good for nothing. That if I go away, nobody will miss me. I mean, they already don't, but I still don't want to believe it's true."

"So that's why you are still stay here."

"At least, now people know I exist. Even if as just a story," Nana let out a shaky sigh. "I'm sorry for crying like this to you, Rosalina. You just came here to visit me and I only ended up taking your time with my problems."

"Don't be sorry," Rosalina said, patting her back. She flinched a little at just how cold it felt the contact between her hand and the girl's non-solid back. She quickly, but discretely, pulled her hand away. "Do you feel better?"

"I feel like crap."

"Right..."

"But not as much as before," she let out a small and timid smile. "So... Thanks for listening."

Rosalina retributed the smile with another one. She was half expecting to see her disappear right after that, now that she seemed to accept her death. Yet, she knew that would not happen, because Nana still was reluctant in moving on.

"I just wish I could spend Christmas with Popo one more time."

"Why Christmas?"

"Why not Christmas? It's just the best holiday ever! You get presents, food, and you get to spend it with the people you love. Heck, even my parents actually stopped at home for the whole day to spend it with me and Popo!"

"Well, I guess it's only fitting you feel like this."

"When is Christmas going to happen this year, by the way?"

"It's the day after tomorrow, actually."

"Wow, already?" she asked, getting up from the bed and going to the window. "I kept seeing the decorations from the houses outside and wondering how many days we were away from Christmas. I didn't expect it to happen so soon! Time sure flies."

"I guess this is something we can both agree," Rosalina chuckled.

Nana turned around, her eyes timidly staring at the floor and her hand rubbing her arm. "Hey, Rosalina. Would it be too much to ask for you to spend Christmas with me?" she asked.

Oh...

Rosalina really didn't expect that request. It wasn't even her asking for her to bring her dog to visit her anymore. Nana really wanted to spend more time with her, especially during a holiday she considered so great. And Rosalina wanted to say yes. If that would make Nana happy enough to bring her peace, then she would stay.

However...

"I'm sorry, Nana. I'm already going to spend it on my cousin's house," she said as she felt her heart getting heavier with the deception in the other's eyes. "I-It's something we do every year."

"I understand..."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, well, I can always lock you here, if that's the case."

"Nana!"

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" Nana said, raising her hands. "Do you need to take everything so seriously?"

"When it comes to you, I don't know what to expect," Rosalina said, trying to regain her normal heartbeat.

"You should have seen your face!" the girl giggled. "It was priceless!"

"Rascal."

Rosalina didn't know if it was just her imagination, but she could swear Mr. Peepers was laughing too.

* * *

><p>By the time the morning of Christmas Eve has arrived, Rosalina had decided she couldn't leave things just like that. She needed to do something. She couldn't stay at Nana's house, but she still wanted to show that she cared about her. But what could she do? Giving a present wouldn't do any good, because material goods weren't exactly something useful to the dead, as far as she knew. And staying the whole day there also was out of question.<p>

Still, a little gift would be nice. It didn't need to be clothes or food, but it needed to be something special, regardless.

Which is why she stood in front of the door to the Mario brothers' apartment. She needed help and she knew exactly the person for the job.

Rosalina knocked on the door three times and waited for the answer. "Yes, who's there?" asked the voice from the other side.

"Mario, it's Rosalina. May I come in?"

The door got unlocked and she was greeted by a very surprised Mario, still wearing his everyday overalls and red cap.

"Hey, Rosalina," he said. "I was expecting to see you only at Peach's party tonight. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Luigi. Is he here?"

"Sure! Hold on, I'll call him," he gestured for her to enter. "Come in, have a seat."

Rosalina excused herself and sat on the sofa, patiently tapping her fingers on her knees as she waited for Luigi to appear.

Luigi, Mario's younger brother, while not exactly the bravest man Rosalina has ever met, still had an interesting history (and very frightening, according to him) with ghosts and haunted places. He was well known among spiritualists for purging ghosts out of houses and mansions, many claiming he was naturally gifted in the department. Yet, he still wanted to work as a simple plumber and tried his best to avoid having to deal with the supernatural as much as he could.

If there was anyone who could help Rosalina, it was him.

"Rosalina? Hey," she heard him calling her, his voice as meek as ever. "How are you?"

"Could have been better, actually," she said, getting up and greeting him with a kiss on the cheek.

"What brings you here that couldn't make you wait until Peach's party?" he joked.

"I need help with something."

"Yes?"

"I think you might want to sit down," she suggested sheepshly. "I promise not to involve you too much in this, but I need suggestions."

"About what?" Luigi asked apreheensively as the two sat down.

"So, these days I've met this ghost..."

Luigi pulled his green cap over his eyes.

Why him?

* * *

><p><strong>Merry Christmas, Luigi! Anyway, this story is almost over and I'm glad I could manage to put Luigi in there, because it was too good of an opportunity.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Another year, another empty celebration. Nana was already used to spending her days alone in that desolated house that no longer felt like home, but this particular day seemed to sting at her hard. And how couldn't it? At this time of the night, everyone must be at their homes, or at their family or friend's homes, having a good time, eating and drinking, all while exchanging gifts and the best of wishes.

There were no pretty decorations to look at, no smell of turkey from the oven and no sound of joy and laughter. She was all by herself, yet again.

She wished she could see Popo one more time.

She wished Rosalina could spend Christmas with her.

But those were selfish wishes. She couldn't expect them to cater to her needs. Rosalina had her own life to live and her own family and friends to talk to and be happy with. Same with Popo, though she would exclude the family part for him. Nana shouldn't even be there, to begin with. She was as dead as a girl could get, both physically and in the memories of the very few people that used to be close to her.

Bleh.

Nana was starting to drown herself in self-pity and self-loathing again. That wasn't very healthy. She needed to take a walk. Maybe time would pass slightly faster and the holiday would be over sooner.

Was it her, or did she hear the sound of footsteps that weren't her own? And... Bell noises?

Did someone really decide to enter her house? Who invades a haunted house on Christmas Eve? Nana was baffled, and honestly, a little pissed off. Of all days and nights, someone decides to play hero and enter the 'spooky' haunted house right in the night when she's at her worst emotional state. Alright, if that was how he or she wanted, Nana would make this person realize they picked the wrong holiday to play with the dead.

She left her room and headed downstairs, where the sound came from. What she found at the end of the stairs, though, made her stop on her tracks and her inner anger disappear entirely.

"What...?"

Right before her eyes, there were about three lit candles placed in an orderly fashion, them being red, white and green, respectively. Next to the red candle, stood a small, artificial, decorated pine tree, one of those she used to see in the counter of stores when she used to shop for gifts with her brother every year. There was a bouquet of orange Lip flowers wrapped up in a pretty and neat white ribbon placed next to the green candle, but that was not what really grabbed her attention.

No, what really grabbed her attention was the small, white polar bear plushy placed neatly at the center of the arrangement. The bear wore the most silly sunglasses and sported an equally silly pink shorts. There was also a note tied with a red ribbon to its neck, which sparked Nana's curiosity even more.

The girl cautiously floated towards the doll, almost too afraid of touching it and realizing all of that was just an illusion and that a simple touch would break it. With a shaky hand, she got the note and squinted her eyes in order to read what it said better:

**_Nana,_**

**_Even if I'm not able to be there with you at the moment, I want you to know that you are in my thoughts. I brought you these candles in hopes that they make your night a little brighter and I hope these flowers can make you smile._**

**_Have a Merry Christmas and know that you are not alone._**

**_Best wishes,_**

**_Rosalina._**

**_PS: I hope you like the polar bear doll. I saw it on the store and immediatelly thought of you, for some odd reason._**

Nana dropped the note and brought her hands to her mouth, tears streaming down from her eyes. Rosalina did all of that for her. The candles, the flowers, the pine tree... Even when she was busy, she still went out of her way to visit her one more time and leave all these wonderful gifts.

For the first time in an eternity, Nana felt happy.

"Merry Christmas, Rosalina," she whispered.

* * *

><p>On the December 26th, Rosalina decided to return to the house. The candles she left on the base of the stairs were no longer lit, but all the arrangement she made along with Luigi was still left untouched.<p>

Well, most of the arrangement, anyway. The polar bear plushy was missing.

The young woman held her breath and went upstairs, yet found no one in the room she has been visiting these past days. The cold atmosphere also seemed to have disappeared and the entire house was empty.

Could it be?

She did the same on the next couple of days, but it was just as she suspected: Nana had finally moved on.

And she took the doll.

Figures.

There was no point in returning anymore, so once she left the house, Rosalina turned her head one more time to the window where Nana's bedroom was located, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"Merry Christmas, Nana."

* * *

><p><strong>I can't believe I did it! I thought for a moment I wouldn't finish this story in time, but I'm glad I was wrong again. Now, since this is the last chapter and I my word count still allows me to write a huge AN, that's exactly what I'm going to do.**

**-This idea was not my first. At first I wanted to write a more straightforward Christmas story that had Pit and Dark Pit as the main characters. It would involve them, Yoshi, a rainy summer day of Christmas Eve and an ice-skating ring in a mall. It was a lot less fun than it sounds.**

**-For this chapter, I first thought about using Mr. Peepers' duck doll in the place of the bear. But that would be a really crappy gift, even with all the sentiment behind. Not to mention, the bear is kind of what the opposite of Nana: he wears sunglasses and summer clothes in the middle of a snowy montain, while Nana wore winter clothes in the middle of summer. Also, because he's from Ice Climber.**

**-Speaking of Nana's parka, the reason why she was wearing it was because, while she did die in summer, she died in one of those cold days that you have no idea where it came from.**

**-I want Nana's death to remain a mistery. Not because I'm lazy and couldn't think of an explanation (on the contrary, I have at least three cenarios in my head of what could have happened to her, one of them, like the anon reviewer suggested, involved suicide), but because that was not the point of this story. It wouldn't matter to Rosalina if she knew what caused her death or not, because that wouldn't solve the problem. And because I guess that would force me to change this story's rating to T, and I don't feel like it. So, really, it is up to anyone's guess.**

**-The orange flowers were actually Lip's Sticks . I just wanted to make a nice little nod to one of my favorite items (those things can be overkill if in the right hands, seriously).**

**-Now that I think about it, I wish I had included Luigi more. His main games involve him fighting off ghosts, for crying out loud! Rosalina and he could form a duo and fight of hauntings, like that couple from 'The Conjuring'. Someone make this AU happen, please!**

**I want to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story! And special thanks to Tune4Toons for incentivating me on finishing this fic! Now I can go back to finishing my other fics and writing other... Stuff.**

**Good luck to everyone in the contest. And Merry (late) Christmas!**


End file.
